ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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I'm interested in hearing more about the methods and ideas people have for
tracking demographic indicators at their institutions. As Karen pointed out
in the first posting, it's often a requirement of grant funding. And as
powerful as some zip code analyses may be, they alone aren't sufficient to
assess the effectiveness of programs or initiatives designed to reach out to
different community sectors. You may have noticed in the last ASTC survey
that there was a question about what kinds of demographic data are recorded
at science centers and museums. As reported in the 2006 sourcebook, 61% of
respondents collect zip codes, while only 13% collect data on income and 12%
collect information on race/ethnicity. 

With that background, I'd like to hear more from different people about how
they assess their visitorship. ASTC is beginning to collect examples of
protocols and instruments that seem to be particularly effective. If you
have anything you find useful, feel free to send it to me off-line
([log in to unmask]). It will be used here at ASTC in an effort to document
current practices and inform future ones. 

Margaret

_____________

Margaret Glass
ASTC/NISE Network Communications Coordinator
Association of Science-Technology Centers
1025 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005-6310  USA
202/783-7200 x 129   Fax 202/783-7207
[log in to unmask]
www.astc.org

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